Pump rod rotator



Feb. 22, 1955 .c. B. BLANDFORD PUMP RODROTATOR Filed March 1, 1952 WW H5 M m f I J United States Patent PUMP ROD ROTATOR Charles B. Blandford, Long Beach, Calif.

Application March 1, 1952, Serial No. 274,355

1 Claim. (Cl. 255-14) This invention relates to a pump rod rotator, the pump rods being also termed sucker rods, and the purpose of this invention is to continuously and automatically rotate the pump rods as they are reciprocated by the pumping mechanism.

An object of my invention is to rotate the pump rods when the pump is at the bottom of its stroke, the rotative force being achieved by a weight which is attached to a handle.

A feature of my invention is to cause the pump rods to be rotated by a weight, this weight being insufiicient to cause damage to the rods if the rods should be stuck for some reason.

Another object is to provide a novel pump rod rotation which is provided with a shock absorber to relieve the pump rods of the shock caused by reciprocation of the pumping engine.

Another feature of my invention is to provide a pump rod rotation which is simple in construction and which can be readily applied to the pump rods, and, furthermore, which is effective in operation.

Other objects, advantages and features of invention may appear from the accompanying drawing, the subjoined detailed description and the appended claim.

in the drawing:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary side elevation of the pumping mechanism of an oil well showing my pump rod rotator in position thereon and with the wrench handle just starting to drop.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of my pump rod rotator.

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken on line 44 of Figure 3.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, numeral 1 indicates the usual tubing which extends downwardly to the bottom of the Well and the numeral 2 indicates the pump rod which reciprocates within the tubing, and particularly the numeral 2 indicates the upper end of the pump rods, namely the polished rod.

The pump rods 2 are reciprocated by usual and well known pumping mechanism which includes a reciprocating horsehead 3, from which the reins 4 depend, the reins in turn being attached to a carrier bar 5, through which the rods 2 extend.

The horsehead 3 is reciprocated by a motor in the usual and well known manner and this reciprocation is imparted to the carrier bar 5, thus in turn reciprocating the pump rods 2, all of which is usual and well known in the art.

It is desirable to rotate the pump rods while the well is being produced and a method of rotating these rods is shown in Patent No. 2,180,880, November 21, 1939.

It is important that the pump rods shall not be forcibly rotated because if the rods should be stuck in the well, then forcible rotation will cause the rods to be parted.

My pump rod rotator includes a body 6 which is formed With a recess 7, a table 8 is positioned Within the recess 7 and rests on an annular ball bearing 9. A clamp 10 is secured to the pump rods 2 and this clamp rests on the table 3. A gear 11 is either cut on the table 8 or is fixedly attached thereto. A worm gear 12 on the shaft 13 is also mounted in the body 6 and rotation of the shaft 13 will rotate the gears 12 and 11, and, therefore, the table 8 will then rotate the pump rods 2 due to the fact that the clamp 10 is resting on the table. Sufficient rotative force is exerted on the shaft 13 to rotate this shaft only if the pump rods 2 are free. This is accomplished by securing a ratchet wrench 14 to the outer end of the shaft 13. The ratchet wrench 14 is the usual and well known type of ratchet wrench, the construction of which is well known.

A weight 15 is mounted on the outer end of the handle of the Wrench 14 substantially as shown in Figure 1. A chain 16 is also secured to the outer end of the handle of the wrench 14 and at its upper end is secured to the horsehead 3.

At the bottom of the stroke of the horsehead 3, there is slack in the chain 16, and this will permit the handle of the wrench 14 to drop, urged by the weight 15. The shaft 13 is thus rotated and this rotation is imparted to the table 8 and in turn the pump rods 2 will be rotated.

In Fig. l the chain 16 has just become slack and the wrench handle 14 is just starting to drop.

On upward stroke of the horsehead 3 the chain 16 is drawn taut, pulling the handle 14 upwardly, and this movement of the handle will not rotate the shaft 13 since the ratchet wrench is free to move upwardly without rotating the shaft 13.

To relieve the pump rods 2 of any shock due to reciprocation of the mechanism, I provide a shock pad 17 under the body 6, and this shock pad rests on a plate 13, which in turn rests on the top of the carrier bar 5.

Having described my invention, I claim:

The combination with a reciprocating actuator, a carrier bar and polished rod driven thereby in an oil well apparatus, of means to rotate said polished rod including; a body resting on the carrier bar, a table rotatably mounted in said body, said polished rod extending through said table, a shaft journaled in said body adjacent the table, meshing gear means on the shaft and table, a ratchet wrench mounted on said shaft, said ratchet wrench being disposed laterally of the path of reciprocation of the carrier bar, a weight mounted on said ratchet Wrench, said weight on downward movement of the carrier bar rotating the polished rod, a chain secured at one end to the ratchet wrench and at the other end to the reciprocating actuator to swing said ratchet wrench upwardly as the carrier bar moves upwardly from the bottom of its stroke.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

